Khoren I Paroian
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Khoren I Mesrop Paroyan (24 November 1914, Nicosia - 9 February 1983, Antelias) was the Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia, from 1963 to 1983.
He was preceded by Zareh I, and succeeded by Karekin II of Cilicia.
(February 10, 1983 nytimes)
Catholicos Khoren I, a leader of the Armenian Orthodox Church, died here today, the Beirut radio said. He was 68 years old.
The Catholicos was the head of the Holy See of Cilicia, which is named for its former seat in Turkey but has had its headquarters in Antelias, on the northeast outskirts of Beirut, since World War I. He was the spiritual head of Armenians in Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, and the Persian Gulf states, with dioceses in the United States and Canada.
Khoren I was born Mesrob Paroyan in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Nov. 24, 1914. He assumed the name Khoren on being ordained a priest in 1937, and became a bishop 10 years later. He was elected Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia in 1963 on the death of Zareh I.
In May 1977, because of ill health, Khoren I relinquished active administration functions to Karekin II, his coadjutor, who will now succeed him as the Catholicos.
The Catholicos of Cilicia, together with the patriarch of Constantinople (in Istanbul, Turkey) and the patriarch of Jerusalem, shares the rule within the Armenian Church with the nominal Primate, the Catholicos of Echmiadzin in Soviet Armenia.